


Nothing but pure honesty my dear

by killing_kurare



Category: Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008)
Genre: F/M, Flirting, Post-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-01-10
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:28:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28673718
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/killing_kurare/pseuds/killing_kurare
Summary: Amber is the head of GeneCo and actually doing a good job. Now she has the mind to ask Graverobber for a favor concerning Shilo.
Relationships: GraveRobber/Amber Sweet
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11
Collections: Bite Sized Bits of Fic from 2021





	Nothing but pure honesty my dear

**Author's Note:**

> Title: "Stone Cold Body" by Blackbriar
> 
> Fill for a prompt at comment-fic on LiveJournal: "I got there and she was on her balcony drinking out of a bottle of vodka and smoking a cigar."  
> https://comment-fic.livejournal.com/1163992.html?thread=116791256#t116791256

"Miss Sweet?"

Amber looks up from her desk and sees her secretary peeking into the office. 

"Yes?" 

The woman walks in and Amber can already tell from the puzzled look on her face what this disturbance is about. She puts the pen down and hides a little smirk. 

"There’s ... someone her to see you. Someone pretty insisting."

Of course Amber already knows who it is, but she can have a little harmless fun, right? 

"Oh? I don't think I have any appointments today?"

"No, you don't."

"Then who is it?"

The woman frowns. "Someone who calls himself ... Graves?" 

Her voice gets a pitch higher and she starts fidgeting, so Amber decides it's enough. 

"Ah, yes," she says with a smile and is glad when the secretary relaxes. The young woman is on the job merely a week and Amber is not a monster (usually), even though some people might say otherwise. But since she became the head of Geneco, it is a fact her reputation shifted: from being outright mocked and not taken serious to gaining respect and also more popularity. Some minor changes with big effects were enough, and she's glad (and also relieved) things turned out to be okay after the opera.

"Miss Sweet?"

"Mh? Oh, yes, of course. Please send him in." Amber has to be careful not to get too lost in her thoughts sometimes. 

The secretary nods and leaves the office, only to return a few moments later with Graverobber shuffling in behind her. Amber purses her lips, noticing his usual attire. 

"That'll be all for now, thank you," she says and the young woman leaves immediately. 

Graves' gaze follows her and he smirks when the door closes. "Cute. Is she new?"

Amber rolls her eyes. "Would it hurt to at least leave this dreaded coat when you come here? And really? Announcing yourself as 'Graves'?"

The man shrugs. "At least I left the 'robber' outside, didn't I?"

Amber tries to keep her serious face but fails, allowing herself a soft chuckle. 

"And don't be ridiculous," he continues. "You know you love the coat."

"Anyway," Amber starts, not even thinking of answering to this. "How is she?"

Graverobber's face falls. "Not too well, actually." 

Amber nods. That was too be expected. How could the girl know how to live if she never got to make any experiences? 

"How bad is it?" she asks after a moment of silence. 

"When I got there yesterday, she was on her balcony drinking out of a bottle of vodka and smoking a cigar."

Amber raises her eyebrows. "Where even did she get these things?!"

Graves shrugs again. "Maybe she found the Doc's secret stash? If nothing else, we can agree that this is not like her."

"Indeed. Did she say something?"

"More like slurred," Graves mutters and walks over to a small table, takes the two glasses resting there with one hand and pours them some water with the other. 

Amber gets up, walks over (noticing his gaze on her when she presents herself in full) and takes the glass before sitting down in one of the two more comfortable armchairs. He slouches down as well and watches her cross her long legs; she makes a little more effort than usual to look appealing. Though almost everything about her has changed (except for her face, she has been a good girl recently), there are some old habits that simply die hard. And maybe there are some things she doesn't want to die at all ...

"It was really bizarre, seeing her in this state. And that's something, coming from me," he chuckles, and the soft tenor of his voice brings Amber back to the topic at hand. 

"Does she even know how to smoke a cigar?"

"Looked skilled enough. She has been on her own for a while now, who knows what she's up to."

Amber nods again. How strange ... She can't really wrap her head around the picture of Shilo Wallace drinking and smoking. 

"So ... do you think she'd be ready to listen now?"

"To you? I doubt it." There's no venom in his voice; merely truth. 

"But she'd listen to you?" Amber asks and leans back in the chair. 

"Well, she didn't throw me out yesterday. Actually, we had a nice long chat."

He pauses, but Amber doesn't speak, simply waits for him to continue. 

"She lacks direction. There's nothing for her to do, no where to go, no one to turn to. She's lost and doesn't know how to change that. People turn away from her, now that the Opera's over and there are more interesting things than a poor orphan."

That's actually what Amber had expected to happen. In the beginning there were a lot of people that pretended to look out for her, presenting themselves as patrons to Rotti Largo's victim (as if Shilo had been the only one, but that's a different story). 

But favors wander.

A lesson she herself had to learn over the years. Several times. 

Amber sighs. "Maybe she'll come around if you present my offer." She sighs. "Just try to convince Shilo that I don't want anything from her. It's because of what my family did to her, and because of Marni ..." Amber's voice wavers at the mentioning of Marni's name. She had really loved the woman like a mother back then, and it had broken her and her brother's hearts when she died. For the longest time they all were made to believe that it was Nathan Wallace's fault, that he had poisoned her; but the truth came out when Amber 'inherited' Rotti's henchwomen. She had been curious about Rotti's secrets, and the women told her everything. Every dirty business, every little cruelty, every peculiar affair. 

To say it had been an interesting night would be an understatement. 

Amber smiles a sad smile. "Tell her that I know a secret about her parents ... that her father didn't really kill her mother."

Graverobber cocks an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

Her smile turns into a grin. "Don't tell me you didn't know that," she teases but doesn't expect an answer. Heaven knows this man has more secrets than her father could've ever come up with. 

Graverobber just takes a sip from his glass. "So, what exactly should I propose?"

Amber shrugs. "That GeneCo wants to support her, in any way she thinks proper. Does she want to keep living in her house? Done. Does she want to move into an apartment? City or somewhere else? Done and done. Heck, even if she wants a job, education, anything ... I don't think there's anything she could want we cannot figure out one way or the other."

"That's very generous."

Amber huffs. "You know that it's actually no big deal. We have enough resources."

"True that. And yet it's a funny thing."

She frowns puzzled. "What is?"

He puts down the glass and leans forward; she can smell him now, earth, musk ... death. Why is it as enticing as it is?

"That you still come to me for things." 

Amber swallows hard and leans back again (when did she even lean in?), raising her own glass to her lips to create some kind of shield. 

"Well, there are things no one else can do." Though her words are anything but, she says it in a nonchalant tone. 

"Truer words have never been spoken," he says and chuckles again, getting up so abruptly Amber startles. "Then I guess I'll go see Shilo now."

"Please do," she agrees and gets up as well. 

"By the way, I brought you something," he says and starts rummaging through his coat before pulling out a little glass vial. When seeing the familiar blue glow, as enticing as his smell, her throat turns dry and she has to swallow again. 

"Thanks, but ... no."

He raises an eyebrow, visibly surprised. "Oh? Has Miss Sweet turned into a responsible adult now?"

His mockery doesn't hurt her anymore; quite the opposite, it's something familiar that makes her smile and brings back her sovereignty. 

"Fake it til you make it," she says softly and he laughs out at that, turns around and strides towards the door. Her eyes follow him and she releases a breath she wasn't aware of holding. 

Just before he can reach for the handle, Amber calls out: "Wait."

He stops and turns around, the zydrate still in his hand. "What, a change of mind?" he asks, his amusement almost tangible.

The heiress catches up and brings her face so close to his they almost touch. 

"No," she breathes and lets her hands rest on his chest. "Merely a heads up: I might come around later to get another kind of hit, so don't hide too well tonight." 

His eyes turn from amusement to pure wanting, and it makes Amber's heart flutter that this hasn't changed. 

"See you then," he answers softly as his thumb caresses her cheek fleetingly, before turning around and leaving the office for good. 

Amber closes the door, leans her back against it and sighs deeply. 

'Yup, it's good if some things just stay as they are ...'


End file.
